Everything you need to know about 'Guaranteed Rate'

APR

Before learning more about the different types of APR advertised across the financial industry, it’s important to understand exactly what an ‘APR’ is.

Most of us have heard of Annual Percentage Rate (APR) which is the official rate used to help you understand the cost of borrowing. It’s a way of measuring the interest rate and any other additional charges that are applied to a number of financial products such as credit cards, hire purchase agreements and personal loans.

Different lenders use different terms for interest on financial products such as a personal loan but by law they have to give you the exact APR that you will be required to pay back before you sign the agreement.

When it comes to APR, being savvy and knowing exactly what the different terms mean could save you lots of money in the long run. Find out more about APR here.

Representative APR

Lots of lenders tend to promote a representative APR which is an advertised amount that a minimum percentage of customers will pay. Some lenders advertise an attractive low representative rate but what lots of people don’t know is that the representative APR shown is not guaranteed and after applying can find themselves paying much more.

To be representative it must be the rate in which at least 51% of those accepted for the loan will actually receive.

Meaning that nearly half of those applying for a loan (49%) may not be eligible for the advertised rate and could pay more than the representative APR that is advertised by the lender. The lower your credit score usually means that the cost of borrowing will be higher. 

Guaranteed APR

Recently, more and more lenders, including Admiral Money are promoting a guaranteed rate. Simply put, a guaranteed rate means that what you see is what you get, providing you’re approved. 

A guaranteed APR is the rate you’re actually given by the lender. The lender will decide what rate to offer you based on how your credit and financial information matches their criteria. A guaranteed rate makes the journey of getting a personal loan more transparent and fairer as there are no nasty surprises when it comes to the total amount of interest that you’ll have to repay. 

By getting an instant quote you’ll be able to get your guaranteed rate right from the start with this having no impact on your credit score. If you’re approved, this means that you’ll know exactly how much the loan will cost you to repay before you make a decision to apply. 

TIP: It’s helpful to know your guaranteed rate before shopping around as it can make it easier to compare when getting quotes from other lenders.

Pre-Approved 

Whilst shopping around for a loan or any similar financial product you’re likely to come across the term ‘Pre-Approved’ when getting various quotes. 

‘Pre-approved’ means that the lender is likely to approve you for the amount you’ve entered during the quote process, subject to fraud and verification checks.

What’s important to remember is that if you’ve been pre-approved for a financial product then the lender is not committed or guaranteed to lend you the money and there’s still a chance that you could be denied a loan after being pre-approved for it.

The good news is that if you’re pre-approved for a loan with Admiral Money it does not impact your credit score unless you decide to complete a full application.